In a backwater corner of the South Pacific a young American adventurer and his ragtag group of friends become involved in death-defying hi-jinx, transporting people-on-the-run in a well-worn Grumman Goose seaplane. Set in 1938, this series captures the ambiance and character of a mysterious romantic era.

This series became a massive hit following the success of Indiana Jones's 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.

IMPORTANT: This DVD will not play on most DVD players sold in the US or Canada [Region 1]. This item requires a region specific or multi-region DVD player and compatible TV. A Region 4 set will be released in Australia by the end of November.

Ellison’s tale – a brand new story fragment from the master wordsmith – will feature the first team-up ever of the Phantom and the Green Hornet. With an introduction by Lee Falk’s (Phantom creator) daughter Diane Falk!

Join Buffy novelist and four time Bram Stoker Award winner Nancy Holder, as she uncovers the sexy noir thriller secrets of "The Catalina Caper"! Hollywood has come to the island, and the Domino Lady's alter ego will make her big screen debut! First, of course, there is a matter of blackmail under the lights to attend to. There is nothing the Domino lady won't do for her adoring public.

A HISTORY OF THE DOC SAVAGE ADVENTURES IN PULPS, PAPERBACKS, COMICS, FANZINES, RADIO & FILM HC!

DUE IN LATE OCTOBER ~ EDITED BY ROBERT MICHAEL 'BOBB' COTTER

Doc Savage is not only the prototype of the modern fictional superhero; he was also a seminal force in creating multimedia crossovers. The character exploded onto the scene in 1933, with the Great Depression and the gathering clouds of war as a cultural backdrop.

The series is examined in relation to historic events and changing audience tastes, with special attention on the horror and science-fiction elements. The artwork features illustrations, covers, and original art.

TO COMPLEMENT THE PUBLICATION OF THE SPIDER VS. THE EMPIRE STATE ~ NORVELL PAGE'S BRILLIANT BLACK POLICE TRILOGY ~ AGE OF ACES HAS UPDATED THEIR WEBSITE WITH THREE NEW RELATED GALLERIES:

The first gallery is for the pulp covers by John Newton Howitt, which we were not able to reproduce in color in the book.

The second shows ALL of the interior illustrations by John Fleming Gould as they originally appeared in the three issues that were collected for the volume. This means, if you own a copy of Empire State, you can see how each image was filled out to make a complete two-page spread (strictly using Gould art, mind you). This gallery also includes the character portraits from each story which didn’t find a place in the book.

The third gallery is actually photographs of the book, both inside and out. We opted to do this because so many people have said that, though the cover is stirring, when they saw the whole book in person they were even more impressed with the design. So, if you own a copy of Empire State, enjoy these “dvd extras” — and if you don’t, take a look and maybe you’ll be inspired to pick up a copy!

Mike Molloy and Tommy McNamara were the "Twin Terrors of the Western Front".

They flew as if they had been born in Spads, they drank like thirsty whales, and they'd fought by each other's side through every mile of air along the lines and in every bar from the Front to Paris. If there were no more pressing targets, they pounded each other to a pulp, for any reason at all, and were strangely happy.

Leading the 24th Pursuit Squadron across WWI Europe's blood red skies, Molloy and McNamara were the bane of the German Air Force. Their names and reputations were known wherever fighting men met with blazing guns or flying fists.

Written by William Hartley, the twenty tales of Molloy and McNamara appeared in Dare-Devil Aces between 1936 and 1942. Age of Aces has collected the first eleven of them for this volume.

THE RED PANDA #50 ~ FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE!NEW FROM DECODER RING THEATRE:A forgotten foe from our masked marvel's past returns, exhibiting astonishing new powers. Is this the opening overture of a new concerto of crime, or is there more than meets the eye to the... Flight of the Bumblebee! TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

Friday, September 25, 2009

THE MOVIE FAN FARE BLOG HAS A COOL POST ON A NEW BOOK OF SPORTS MOVIES AND AN INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE AUTHORS.

I JUST PICKED UP A COPY OF THIS ON MY WAY HOME AND IT'S FABULOUS. WRITTEN BY TWO GUYS WHO OBVIOUSLY LOVE SPORTS FILMS AND HAVE THE REQUIRED SKILLS TO REVIEW THEM. THEY DON'T JUST GIVE A SYNOPSIS OF EACH FILM, BUT WRITE ABOUT THEM WITH REASONED FEELING.

I'M A SUCKER FOR SPORTS FILMS. IF THERE IS A ROCKY VII, I'LL BE IN THE THEATRE OPENING DAY. I'M THOROUGHLY ENJOYING DIPPING IN, HERE AND THERE, WITHIN THESE PAGES, REDISCOVERING FORGOTTEN FAVORITES (LIKE ONE OF THE BEST RUNNING FILMS OF ALL TIME, THE JERICO MILE) AND RELIVING THE BEST SCENES FROM DOZENS AND DOZENS OF OTHER GREAT SPORTS FILMS.

IF YOU LOVE THESE FILMS, GO BUY, NOW!

Glen Macnow–host of Philadelphia-based WIP Radio’s “Movie Club for Men”–and Ray Didinger–football analyst for Comcast Sports Network–have just written “The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Sports Films of All Time.” In the following interview, Macnow answers some of the most frequently asked questions about this encycolpedic salute to sports cinema.

WHY DID YOU NAME ROCKY THE ALL-TIME BEST SPORTS MOVIE?

The trick with Rocky is not to let all those sequels – some of which we enjoyed – detract from your view of the original, a great film that deservedly won the Oscar for Best Picture when it came out. We set five standards judging every sports movie – It needs to have a powerful story, a great script. It needs to have three-dimensional characters, heroes and bums who make you care about their lives. Of course, it needs to have topflight sports action. It needs to create goose bumps. There must be at least one scene in the film that sends shivers down your back or raises a lump in your throat. And it needs to be realistic – but not too much so. Because a powerful sports movie lets us stretch our imagination, allows us to dream.

More than any movie ever made, Rocky meets all five criteria. The script, written by Sylvester Stallone is the touching story of a hardscrabble club fighter who takes his best shot. Stallone may not have invented the lovable underdog saga, but he sure perfected it. Rocky is chock full of colorful characters. Paulie, Mick, Apollo Creed. Even the bit parts – like Gazzo the mobster – add layers of grit to the story.

You want Grade A sports action? The 25-minute brawl between Balboa and Creed that culminates the film is as good as it gets. And goosebumps?

Watch Rocky in the training sequence performing those one-armed pushups just as “Gonna Fly Now“ kicks into high gear. Cut to him dashing through the streets of Philadelphia. A quick flash of the fighter punching the sides of beef, and then the iconic shot of Rocky in the gray sweat suit, arms aloft at the top of the Art Museum steps. If that doesn’t create tingles, you must be unconscious.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

In honor of this weeks 45th anniversary of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., I offer up The Finger In The Sky Affair by Peter Leslie. This was the 23rd, and last, Man From U.N.C.L.E. tie-in novel. Yes, I know there are the fan circulated copies of David McDaniels’ The Final Affair, but The Finger In The Sky Affair is the last officially published U.N.C.L.E. tale from Ace.

Author Peter Leslie had done several other U.N.C.L.E. tie-in novels, along with Harry Whittington, another name from the annuls of pulpdom, but his stories never rose to the level of those by fan favorite David McDaniels.

MYSTERY IN THE SKIES

Illya and Napoleon uncover a fantastic THRUSH plan to rule the world’s air lanes.

Five major air crashes in two months – the cause of all of them a complete mystery. In each case the plane’s instruments were working perfectly, the crew was in command and ground control contact. The plane would suddenly nosedive into the runway as it came in to land, killing most of the passengers. Those who weren’t killed outright died mysterious deaths shortly after.

Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin hurried to Nice to follow a trail that led unavoidably to THRUSH – and to a monstrous master-plan that was moving steadily toward the point of no return . . .

As the last book of the Ace U.N.C.L.E. tie-ins, The Finger In The Sky Affair is also the most rare. Not impossible to find, but still elusive in good condition.

The U.N.C.L.E. tie-ins along with full runs of the digest sized The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Magazine and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Magazine, a full run of the Dell U.N.C.L.E. tie-in comics, and various other U.N.C.L.E. publications still hold a sweet spot in my library and in my heart. They contain all the imagination of a ten year old boy, who sat down 45 years ago this week, and was mesmerized.

Harry Connick, Jr.'s much anticipated album 'Your Songs' is available in stores and online today. Produced by Harry Connick, Jr. and Clive Davis, 'Your Songs' consists of Connick singing familiar songs with a full jazz big band and string orchestra, and, as with nearly all of Harry's previous albums, he wrote each of the orchestrations himself. 'Your Songs' includes classic hits like "All The Way," "Just The Way You Are," "(They Long To Be) Close To You," "Mona Lisa" and more.Buy it now from: Amazon

Barnes & Noble Exclusive (Includes Bonus Track "Killing Me Softly") Deluxe Limited Edition CD/DVD is available exclusively only at hconnickjr.com!The Deluxe Limited Edition CD/DVD package is available only at hconnickjr.com, and features 14 standard album tracks PLUS 2 exclusive bonus tracks, "Who's Sorry Now" and "Answer Me My Love." It also includes rare behind-the-scenes footage of Harry on the road with his band and the music video of "(They Long To Be) Close To You."

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

OKAY, U.N.C.L.E. FAN THAT I AM, I ONLY JUST LEARNED THE CAR USED IN THE LATTER SEASONS OF THE MAN AND GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. WAS AN AMT PIRAHNA DESIGNED BY GENE WINFIELD. . .Many of us remember the "Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Girl from U.N.C.L.E." television shows from the mid-60's and the unusual car that appeared in a handful of episodes. That car was built by Gene Winfield in the AMT Corporation's "Speed & Custom Division" shop in Phoenix, Arizona. Winfield had previously built many of the Ford and Chrysler prototypes of new car designs, cars for TV, and for private customers from around the country. He was hired by the AMT model company in 1962 as a customizing consultant, and in 1964 he was asked to open a new AMT shop in Phoenix to build working, full-size versions of cars to be featured as AMT models.

The partnership between AMT and the "Man from U.N.C.L.E." was actually created through Winfield, who had also been hired to build a car for the U.N.C.L.E. series. The original U.N.C.L.E. car was to be based on a Dodge Charger, but the network had second thoughts about giving them too much free advertising or perhaps cancelling their multi-million dollar advertising champaign. They decided a completely new car needed to be used.FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

Cloak and Dagger was an NBC radio series, a foreign intrigue adventure adapted from the book Cloak and Dagger by Corey Ford and Alastair MacBain. It was broadcast May 7- October 22, 1950 with a cast that included Raymond Edward Johnson, Everett Sloane, and Jackson Beck.

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHERIE PRIEST made her debut with the Eden Moore series of Southern Gothic ghost stories that began with Four and Twenty Blackbirds. She lives in Seattle, Washington, and keeps a popular blog at www.cmpriest.livejournal.com/

DISTRAXION!DISTRAXION IS A FILM BY MIKE STERN, WHO PROBABLY DIDN’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE BOSS’ FAVORITE MUSIC WHILE CREATING THIS. STILL, YOU KNOW HE’S BEEN THROUGH IT AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER!A HUGE GUWAFF TO MISS CELLANIA

Bikini World is especially cool. As a collection, it's uniformly hot spit, especially Untamed Youth's blow torch summer epic, "Tube City" and the painfully-punned "Surfs You Right" by Finland's finest, Laika & the Cosmonauts. "Scalpin' Party" by Jackie & the Cedrics has some of the most percolating percussion I've ever encountered, but, disappointingly, they just fade out instead of come up with a proper ending.

"XKE!" from Seattle's own Boss Martians, is, as you might expect, eerie and extradimensionally cool. You may think you've heard this stuff a million times, but we both know that's not enough. Gnarly, dude.

Among the many crime novels I’ve read this year, precious few have held a grip on me quite like the nonfiction tale of THE MAN WHO LOVED BOOKS TOO MUCH: THE TRUE STORY OF A THIEF, A DETECTIVE, AND A WORLD OF LITERARY OBSESSION. In addition, Allison Hoover Bartlett’s book doubles as a first-rate piece of long-form journalism.

Her subjects are like players in the classic cat-and-mouse form. On one side stands Ken Sanders, a former hippie who earns a living as a dealer of rare books in Salt Lake City, and serves as security chair for the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America; his prey is John Gilkey, a collector of books who’s ripped off many of the ABAA members through credit card numbers stolen from his job at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Gilkey’s not interested in selling the books he “gets,” but he’s not interested in reading them, either. He’s in it for the prestige he believes an impressive library will bring him. He wants a first edition of each of the Modern Library’s list of 100 best novels of all time, but how’s a guy like him supposed to fund a hobby like that? Simple: He doesn’t.

HERE’S A FEW GEMS OF WHICH MOST HARD CORE FANS ARE ALREADY AWARE, BUT STILL OF INTEREST TO THOSE WHO HAVE ONLY DABBLED WITH THE SERIES.

The show was originally to have been called "Solo", but in the year it was due to come out the movie Goldfinger (1964) was released with a villain called "Solo."

The stunts were usually done by actors David McCallum and Robert Vaughn as well as by stuntmen, and the best version was used. McCallum wasn't too keen on heights and Vaughan wasn't too keen on water - so they tried to avoid those stunts.

U.N.C.L.E. stands for "United Network Command for Law and Enforcement"

Access to U.N.C.L.E. headquarters was made through Del Floria's, a tailor's shop. Additional entrances were mentioned but not seen.

In the original, unaired version of the pilot episode (shot in color), the Head of U.N.C.L.E. was called Mr. Allison, played by Will Kuluva. When the program finally aired it was shown entirely in black and white with Kulava's scenes re-shot, featuring Leo G. Carroll as Mr. Waverly.

At one point, the producers considered combining the show with "Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The" (1966) to make a single, two-hour series called "The U.N.C.L.E. Show".

Ian Fleming was reportedly one of the consultants when this series was being planned. The name Solo was borrowed, apparently with his blessing, from the novel Goldfinger.

Napoleon Solo was originally to have been a Canadian. Although Ian Fleming assisted in the creation of the series, at one point EON Productions - which owned the rights to Fleming's novel "Goldfinger" - threatened legal action over the use of the name Napoleon Solo.

The show's third season saw a change of style that resulted in the amount of comedy being increased in response to the "camp" craze made popular by _"Batman" (1966)_ and "Get Smart" (1965). As a result, UNCLE's ratings plummeted and the series never recovered. Despite a return to serious stories the next year, it was cancelled midway through its fourth season.

The meaning of the acronym THRUSH was never spelled out in the series, though a meaning was created for one of the UNCLE novels published at the time ("Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity").

Every two-part episode of this series was reedited into a series of theatrical films which were initially released in Europe, and later to American TV. In each case, additional footage was shot. Among the films in this series: To Trap a Spy (1964); Spy with My Face, The (1965); One Spy Too Many (1966); One of Our Spies Is Missing (1966); Spy in the Green Hat, The (1966); Karate Killers, The (1967); _Helicopter Spies, The (1968) (TV)_; How to Steal the World (1968).

Except for "Alexander the Greater Affair, episodes were always titled "The (insert episode title) Affair", while each act also carried its own title, usually taken from a line of dialog.

Robert Vaughn worked on his PhD during the course of the series, and often was allowed to leave the set early so that he could attend night classes.

When they were filming a reunion movie, both lead actors were asked how the success of this show affected their careers. David McCallum said that he was often typecast and found it difficult to play other types of roles, Robert Vaughn (I) said in his case the opposite was true, he played nothing but villains after the series ended.

The name Illya Kuryakin comes from a Broadway play written and directed by Jules Dassin. "Ilya Darling" is Dassin's musical adaptation of his earlier film "Never on Sunday," or in Greek "Pote tin Kyriaki". The irony lies in the fact that the Kuryakin character is Russian and Dassin was blacklisted for years as a suspected Communist.

Originally, Will Kuluva was to play the head of U.N.C.L.E but was replaced by Leo G. Carroll. After the pilot was screened for the network executives, they told the producers to "get rid of the foreign guy". They really meant for David McCallum's Russian agent to get the ax, but the producers thought they meant Kuluva.

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS SKA WITH SWING? YOU GET SKAWING ~ THE LAID-BACK, COOLED OUT, SWINGING THROUGH A HAZE OF REEFER MADNESS SOUND OF CHAISE LOUNGE AND THEIR NEW CD, SECOND HAND SMOKE!

Chaise Lounge performs a blend of music that sounds like it was recorded at Capitol Recording Studios in 1962 and somehow found it’s way to today’s pop charts. You might call it “Early Stereo.” Or perhaps Lounge with a capital “L.” Or maybe just plain enjoyable.

It is the combination of five of the Washington area’s top jazz musicians playing sparkling arrangements of standards and original tunes and featuring the soft, luminous vocals of Marilyn Older. Her voice is truly an American Original. An evening spent with her is an evening spent in the warm, inviting glow of one of the wonderful voices singing in America right now.TO LISTEN CLICK HERE

Monday, September 21, 2009

45 years ago today - September 22, 1964 - a show debuted that had been pitched to the NBC executives as 'James Bond' for television.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. turned out to be more than that. It ushered in an era when spies would be welcomed into U.S. living rooms and not just seen on movie screens. The opening moments of the pilot/first episode were certainly eyecatching and enhanced by Jerry Goldsmith's score.

The Friends of Old Time Radio is hosting its 2009 Convention October 22-25 at the Holiday Inn North in Newark, NJ. There will again be many exciting autograph opportunities.

The Friends of Old Time Radio will hold their 34th annual convention at the Holiday Inn North in Newark, N.J. from Thursday October 22 - Sunday October 25. The event features celebrity guest appearances, live recreations of radio dramas, historical panels, memorabilia and more. Celebrities scheduled to appear include Chuck McCann, Shirley Mitchell, Simon Jones, Tracey Dey, Joe Franklin, Rosemary Rice and Richard Herd.Program and registration information is available from Sean Dougherty, publicity coordinator, 201-739-2541, SeanDD@optonline.net, or online at www.fotr.net. Group discounts are available.

The Friends of Old Time Radio Convention has a page on Facebook and issues updates via twitter at @fotrconvention and @doughertysean.

NOW AVAILABLE!Blood 'n' Thunder #24 (Summer 2009) packs plenty into its latest hundred-plus-page issue. Feature articles include Part One of editor Ed Hulse's massive survey of Street & Smith's The Popular Magazine; Jean-Marc Lofficier's fascinating overview of pulp-like French crime fiction; and Will Murray's look at the post-pulp career of prolific fictioneer Arthur J. Burks. The Burks article is accompanied by a reprint of his most notorious weird-menace yarn (featuring a necrophiliac protagonist) from Mystery Tales.

Also: a heavily illustrated report on this year's Windy City pulp-collector show, guidelines for Depression-era writers trying to crack Ten Detective Aces, individual pulp reviews, and a lengthy article presenting newly discovered information on the long-lost 1928 movie serial, Tarzan the Mighty. A limited number of copies sold at the recent PulpFest and Ed reports that all subscriber copies were mailed out as of 8/26.

Each issue of the award-winning Blood 'n' Thunder now tops 100 pages and sports laminated color covers, giving it the appearance of a trade paperback. Single-copy price is $11.95 plus $2.50 postage, but Ed is now offering one-year, three-issue subscriptions for $30, which represents a considerable savings.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE DIGGING DEEP AND MAKING A SMALL MONTHLY DONATION THROUGH PAYPAL ($5 OR $3), THERE IS A REWARD! IF YOU'RE NOT HIP TO THE SCENE, YOU'RE STILL GOING TO WANT TO SHARE IN ALL THE GOODIES, SO GET DONATING . . .

The Monthly Donors Premium Page is up at (DELETED FOR OBVIOUS RESONS)!

Everything that was once for sale on our Lulu page is now available for you for free. I have also started files for HQ Downloads of last season's shows, this season's shows and the Showcase programs, which have never been available before. I will continue to add more throughout the year, so keep coming by!

Also available is the first of 6 unrecorded scripts for the original "goofball" Red Panda mini-series, and an unpublished novel from 7 or 8 years ago called "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot". I hope you enjoy them.

I would ask that you please not circulate anything you get from the members page... we're still just shy of 20% of our goal, and the chance to access special features like this seems like our best chance to lure more members in and get that monthly total up!

All of the files are password protected, so you will need a code to download them. The current code is (DELETED FOR OBVIOUS RESONS).

I will update the code from time to time... basically whenever someone cancels their subscription (which happens, usually when a payment fails twice).

Again, I thank you for your continued support - listen at the start of each episode to see what new treats are waiting for you!

BY SHANNON & DEAN HALEILLUSTRATIONS BY NATHAN HALEAVAILABLE JANUARY 2010

The critically acclaimed Hale team - creators of Rapunzel's Revenge - brings readers another delightful graphic novel set in a magical landscape both familiar...and a whole lot stranger than anywhere you know.

Jack likes to think of himself as a criminal mastermind…with an unfortunate amount of bad luck. A schemer, plotter, planner, trickster, swindler...maybe even thief? One fine day Jack picks a target a little more giant than the usual, and one little bean turns into a great big building-destroying beanstalk.

With help from Rapunzel (and her trusty braids), a pixie from Jack’s past, and a man with inventions from the future, they just might out-swindle the evil giants and put his beloved city back in the hands of good people ....while catapulting themselves and readers into another fantastical adventure.

Praise for 'Rapunzel's Revenge': 'Proving that fairy tales are not just for girls a fabulous, off the wall, cowboy-themed graphic novel' The Sunday Telegraph 'Exciting and fast-paced story makes for compelling reading' NATE, Classroom Issue 'If you ever thought of graphic novels as providing an easy read, this one will confound your expectations. It offers 144 pages of rip-roaring storytelling in which the familiar fairy-tale is hugely extended, gathering in its sweep all kinds of echoes from Wild West and Super-hero films as well as other fairy-stories'

CELEBRATING THE GREATEST BRITISH FOOTBALL COMICS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY!

I JUST RECEIVED MY COPY OF THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK (VIA AMAZON.UK) FILLED WITH LUSH ILLUSTRATIONS AND NOSTALGIC TEXT. THIS WILL ONLY MEAN SOMETHING TO THOSE READERS OF THIS BLOG (AND THERE ARE A FEW) WHO ARE OF A CERTAIN AGE AND GREW UP IN ENGLAND REDING ‘BOYS COMICS’ FILLED WITH DARING-DO AND SPORTING HEROES. THIS WAS A TIME BEFORE MARVEL AND DC INVADED BRITISH SHORES AND BROUGHT THE WORLD OF ‘BOYS COMICS’ TO ITS KNEES.

Ever since boys' comics were first published in the middle years of the nineteenth century, they have offered readers fun, adventure and escapism. As participation and attendance at sports events rose dramatically in the early years of the twentieth century, so boys' comics focused more and more on sportsmen, with footballers becoming the ultimate favourites. Millions of boys' comics were sold in the 'golden age' in the 1920s and '30s. The introduction of football stories in cartoon-strip format proved immensely popular, and during the 1950s and '60s comics enjoyed a renaissance, with "The Rover", "Tiger and The Hotspur" among the top titles.

The 1970s saw the launch of dedicated football comics such as "Scorcher" and "Score 'n' Roar". Within the pages of these titles, legends were born, but for every "Hot Shot" Hamish there were dozens of other footballing heroes, and this book tells their stories, too. Although these comics are no longer in circulation, they still generate a huge level of interest among boys and men of all ages, and the culture of the comic book hero continues. Using the archives of publishers DC Thomson and Co. Limited, IPC Media Limited and Egmont UK Limited, the authors have produced a definitive history of the comic book footballer. This unique and nostalgic account of the football comic book phenomenon will jog the memories of older readers and introduce the magic of these imaginary sporting stars to a whole new generation.

I READ THE HOTSPUR WEEKLY FROM 1960 THROUGH 1970. WHEN I IMMIGRATED TO AMERICA WITH MY PARENTS IN 1962, I WOULD STILL RECEIVE A ROLLED UP PARCEL OF COMICS EVERY SIX WEEKS FROM MY GRANDMOTHER. SO, FOR ME, THIS NEW COLLECTION IS A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE.